


Weakness

by Smediterranea



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 13:36:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5787187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smediterranea/pseuds/Smediterranea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> Looking back on it, the whole thing had obviously been a trap. </i>
</p>
<p>Poe and Rey get a distress call from Finn only to find they're the ones who are really in trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Weakness

Looking back on it, the whole thing had obviously been a trap.

They had been sent out to destroy a crucial First Order base. The Resistance wanted to take out communications as well as seize the considerable resources of the small planet — no easy feat without a coordinated attack on the ground and in the air. Commander Poe Dameron led the charge in the sky, downing TIE fighters left and right. Everything had been going according to plan, until a crackling voice came over his speakers.

“ _Poe, help! We need back up, Kylo Ren — they’re taking us — need — help—_ ”

The speakers crackled with static and fell silent.

Another voice on the speakers. “Was that Finn?” Rey’s ship swooped down behind Poe’s X-wing. 

Poe feels a cold sweat breaking across his forehead. If Klyo Ren had gotten a hold of Finn and some of the ground troops…

And then he sees it: a First Order transporter lifting off in the distance. 

“Shit. Shit, shit, _shit_ , I think Kylo Ren’s got Finn in that ship.”

Rey’s response is immediate. “We’re going after them.”

Poe wastes no time; he orders the rest of his fleet to hold their positions and stay the course. He and Rey take off in hot pursuit of the transporter, dodging the TIE fighters trying to escort it to safety.

Poe and Rey are in constant contact, shouting their positions and spotting incoming fighters. They’re so focused on catching the transporter that they don’t notice it until too late. 

The beam pulls in their ships and they’re hauled aboard a waiting vessel.

“ _Do not resist! We have your friend, FN-2187, and we will not hesitate to kill him if you fight us. Exit your ships unarmed._ ” Poe and Rey do as they’re told, glaring daggers at their captors.

“Where’s Finn?” Poe demands.

The Stormtroopers escorting them down the hall say nothing. He tries again and receives the butt of a blaster smacking him in the head. He sees stars for a moment and he and Rey are shoved into a waiting cell and are shackled in place.

Poe opens his mouth to yell at the retreating guards, but his words die on his lips when he sees the figure that has appeared before them.

Kylo Ren. The man who has haunted his nightmares for months, the one whose name strikes fear into the hearts of the Resistance. The man who has Finn.

Kylo Ren ignores Poe entirely, his focus entirely on Rey.

“I hear that you have been training with Luke Skywalker.”

Rey says nothing, but her eyes flash with hatred. Kylo continues.

“Skywalker will not lead you down the path to greatness. You have power, power beyond your own dreams. I can show you the way. I can show you your own power.”

As terrified as Poe is of Kylo Ren, he can’t help but roll his eyes.

“Sorry to break this Jedi party up, but we really did come all this way to see our friend, so if you wouldn’t mind, we’ll just take him off your hands and be going.”

It takes Poe a moment to realize the rough mechanical sound he’s hearing is Kylo Ren laughing.

“Your friend, the Stormtrooper… all this trouble for FN-2187?”

“Where is he?” Rey hisses through her teeth.

“Your time with Skywalker has made you weak. Weak enough to value an insignificant life over your own. FN-2187 is not here. You were foolish to to chase after the traitor.”

Poe and Rey look at each other with wide eyes. A trap. Of course.

“Skywalker limits your power. The Force can do great things, you need only to surrender to it. Let me show you.”

Suddenly Poe’s world fills with pain. He hears Rey’s shout in the distance, hears Kylo Ren’s laugh echoing in the cell. But his thoughts are not his own; he feels Kylo Ren playing with the strands of memories at will, toying with every painful moment in his life. He feels the grief of his mother’s death, the terror of his first solo mission, the physical pain of crawling out of the desert on Jakku. And then Kylo Ren finds a recent memory, one precious and perfect, and the pain finally, blissfully abates.

“So the Stormtrooper isn’t your friend. You _love_ him!” He sounds almost gleeful. It’s hard for Poe to tell over the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.

Rey, who had been trying to think of Master Luke, of remaining calm and serene in the face of Poe’s pain, finally snaps. Kylo is lifted off his feet and slammed into a wall, all without Rey moving a finger. Her anger rolls off in waves so palpable, Poe feels a bit frightened of her.

“ _You…_ ” Kylo’s voice seethes with rage. He raises his hand, prepared to launch into a battle with Rey. Poe does the only thing he can think of.

“So are you First Order guys at least going to offer us dinner? It’s getting kind of late. Hey, do you have to eat the same stuff as the Stormtroopers, or do you get the good stuff since you’re management?”

Poe is blinded by the onslaught of pain. He vomits once, twice, before Kylo Ren stops and turns to Rey.

“I will return. You will surrender to the power of the Force, and you will join us in our fight.” He sweeps out of the cell, the sound of Poe’s heaving gasps carried out with him.

 

***

Poe and Rey pass the time in silence. Rey’s fury has not abated; she is disgusted at her own stupidity for falling into Kylo Ren’s trap and irate at his abuse of the Force. Poe is too tired to be angry; Kylo’s assault has sapped him of all his strength. Still, he snaps awake every time he feels his eyes start to close, terrified of the nightmares to come.

It turns out Kylo Ren is a busy man. A full day passes with no sign of his return. They’ve been given neither food nor water, and they both start to wilt from dehydration. The closest guards are stationed outside two sets of doors; no one is going to get close enough for Rey’s Jedi mind-tricks this time.

When the door finally slides open, they’re both startled and instantly alert. Poe expects to see Kylo Ren's dark robes, but it’s a gleaming white Stormtrooper, tall and proud. 

Rey tries instantly. “ _You will release us from this cell and surrender your weapons._ ” She’s barely finished speaking before the Stormtrooper sets about unshackling them.

Poe shoots Rey a winning smile. “Damn, that’s a useful trick.” He rubs his bruised wrists as he’s released. He looks down at the Stormtrooper struggling to undo the manacles around his feet. “Hey buddy, what’s your name? And none of those letters and numbers, what’s your real name?”

“My name,” says the Stormtrooper, pulling off his helmet, “is _Finn_.”

Poe can only gape at the handsome face beaming back at him before Rey swats him on his shoulder.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Finn says, finally wrenching Poe free. “You came here looking for me, didn’t you?”

“We got tricked. We’ll tell you all about it, but first, let’s get out of here.” Poe sways a little as he stands, but he’s steadied by Finn’s strong hands and then they’re running out of the cell and down the hall.

Their path is surprisingly empty, but it’s a very strange route. Finn takes them through a weird hallway that seems to be behind the main corridor. They move slowly, constantly ducking and hopping over tangles of pipes.

“What the hell are we doing?” Poe whispers.

“Taking the sanitation worker route,” Finn whispers back. “All these ships have a similar floor plan. Trust me.”

And while Poe trusts Finn with his life, he’s still not sure how the hell they’re going to get out of the ship. It’s only a matter of time before they’re discovered, and their ships are probably under heavy guard anyway. They’re going to spend the rest of their short lives hiding between sewage pipes.

As they approach the hangar where their X-wings have been stowed, a loud explosion echoes on the opposite side of the ship. Poe loses his balance and trips headfirst into one of the pipes.

“ _Ow, damn it!_ What the hell was that?”

“Skywalker must’ve triggered the explosion,” Finn says.

“Master Luke is _here_?” Rey’s eyebrows furrow with concern. “He shouldn’t have come! What if he gets captured?”

“Well that was our thinking about you guys, but you already managed to yourselves captured, so what’s one extra Jedi, right?” Rey lets out a sound of protest, but quiets as they hear footsteps and shouts passing them by.

When the steps pass, she speaks. “How did you even get in here undetected?”

“Stole one of the TIE fighters the First Order left behind on that base. Don’t worry — Skywalker’s been in the hangar checking up on your ships. Said he could trigger an explosion remotely, some weird Force trick.” Finn weaves his way through a mess of hissing pipes. “We’ve got three minutes to meet him there before someone figures out you guys are missing.”

“How do you know it’s only three minutes?” Poe whispers back.

“Rounds on prisoner cells are to be done every ten minutes.” Poe shudders to think what would have happened to them if Finn hadn’t known the First Order’s routines inside and out.

Rey’s voice interrupts Poe’s thoughts. “What about Kylo Ren? He should have felt Master Luke’s presence on the ship the second he got anywhere near here.”

“Another diversion. Sent out a false message that Skywalker was stationed on another nearby planet mounting a rescue mission for you. We figured Kylo couldn’t resist the chance to face down his old master.”

With most of the ship distracted by whatever inferno Luke Skywalker has managed to set off, Finn, Poe, and Rey sneak out onto the hangar floor and discretely pile into their ships. Luke has crammed himself in the back of Rey’s ship while Finn, still clad in Stormtrooper regalia, has to squeeze in behind Poe. By the time the rest of the First Order realizes what’s happened, Poe and Rey have jumped into hyperspace and are halfway back to the Resistance base.

Poe and Finn ride in silence, Finn’s suit squeaking slightly as he tries to settle into a more comfortable position. Normally, the silence between them is companionable, comforting, but with each passing minute the air seems to grow heavier with unease. As soon as they’ve safely landed, Poe and Finn fling themselves out of the ship and onto the ground. 

A short distance away, Rey stares at her feet, crestfallen.

“I’m sorry, Master Luke. I should have been patient, I should have —”

“Come, Padwan. We must return to training.” He turns on his heel. Poe thinks of shouting his thanks, but Rey shakes her head and then jogs after him.

“Well,” Poe says, rubbing the back of his head. “I guess I should thank you for saving my sorry ass. Again.”

He expects Finn to laugh, but the other man is staring off into the distance, his jaw clenched.

“Buddy. Hey, what’s wrong? Look, I’m sorry you had to put on that suit again, and I can never repay you for saving us —”

“What if the First Order was right?”

Poe reels like he’s been slapped. “What?”

“What if the First Order was right?”

“Right about what? Finn, you’re not — you wouldn’t _go back_ …”

“No.” Finn shakes his head, finally looking Poe in the eye. “No, I would never go back.” 

Finn sighs and sinks down onto the tarmac. Poe follows suit, wincing as he sits down. He leans into Finn — for support, he tells himself. Finn doesn’t seem to notice.

“The First Order always told us that love was weakness. Loyalty made us strong — loyalty to the First Order would protect us, would keep the galaxy in order. And they lied, the First Order wouldn’t lift a finger to protect us if it was against their interests, but maybe love _is_ a weakness.”

Poe rubs his face wearily. “Love isn’t a weakness, bud. It’s just like loyalty, only it’s with another person instead of some faceless… entity.”

“Love almost got you killed today. You are Rey, you care about me and they used it against you. And Skywalker and I care about you two, so we could’ve been killed, too. And if they got you and Rey and Skywalker… the whole Resistance could be taken down because four people cared about each other. Millions of lives across the galaxy in jeopardy because of a stupid former Stormtrooper. Because of me.”

“But what’s the point in fighting at all if you’re not fighting for the people you love?” 

Finn turns to Poe slowly, eyeing him warily. 

“Maybe love is a weakness. It makes people do all sorts of dumb stuff. But it’s the reason why I’m fighting in the first place. If I die for the people I care about, it’s because I chose it. Because they’re what matters.” Poe slips his hand in Finn’s. “You’re what matters.”

He has the funniest sense of déjà vu — the very same memory Kylo Ren had used to taunt him, repeating itself again: Poe leaning back against his ship, Finn pressed against him in a tender kiss. 

As exhausted as Poe is, he can’t help but give in, deepening the kiss until they’re both panting and a little uncomfortable in their restrictive clothing.

Finn pulls away, breathless. “You are definitely my weakness.”

Poe winks. “I’m worth it though, right?”

“Oh, _hell yes_.”

Poe’s laugh is cut short by another kiss.


End file.
